Newf and Uncle, I've got a manly/womanly question for you both. What sort of feet do you have? High or low arches, narrow or wide, etc? I ask because I'm the footwear researcher for Mr. Rattus (I got him onto Asics, his running shoe of choice), and since you both wear these Red Wings things, which I've never heard of, I assume they're good and was wondering if they would be suitable for Mr. Rattus. And sorry for interjecting estrogen into your conversation .

Newf and Uncle, I've got a manly/womanly question for you both. What sort of feet do you have? High or low arches, narrow or wide, etc? I ask because I'm the footwear researcher for Mr. Rattus (I got him onto Asics, his running shoe of choice), and since you both wear these Red Wings things, which I've never heard of, I assume they're good and was wondering if they would be suitable for Mr. Rattus. And sorry for interjecting estrogen into your conversation .

I have MAN feet. Smelly. Dirty. Athlete's foot fungus that has its own mailbox. Nails that only get trimmed when I get careless with the lawn mower. Callouses that repel all but the sharpest thorns. *series of Tim Allen grunts*

I have MAN feet. Smelly. Dirty. Athlete's foot fungus that has its own mailbox. Nails that only get trimmed when I get careless with the lawn mower. Callouses that repel all but the sharpest thorns. *series of Tim Allen grunts*

Newf, a little too much testosterone there buddy.

Rattus: I have a normal width foot, but my feet a flat enough to required me to use orthotics. I've worn Vasque hiking boots for many years. Long before I wore orthotics. I love them. Great quality footware. And as Newf mentioned, their work boot, manufactured under the name Red Wing, are as good as you can get. You pay more for both brands, but they are great for the feet.

Thanks for the info, guys. They sound like they may not be the right footwear for Mr. Rattus (very narrow feet, extremely high arches, pretty enough to illustrate a fairy tale if it weren't for the hairy toes), but I think I'll have him check them out anyway. He's had issues with his work and his hiking boots over the years so I've been keeping an eye out for recommendations regarding both.

Red Wings come in a variety of widths, and my ex, who has smaller feet and fairly high arches, was able to find a pair of work boots that she liked. She also likes their hiking boots. Or, to get to the point, they are still worth checking out. They sell through their own stores, and have a store locator on their home page http://www.redwingshoe.com/

Trust me, you'll see beautiful sights on that drive, and it's a quick left off I-25 so you'll have easy access to it.

Think of me when you're driving on that road, 'cause when I lived out there I road my bike up and down that Poudre Canyon all the time, for more than ten years.

You are so correct Pomeraniac, Fort Collins has so many wonderful places to enjoy. My daughter graduated from Colorado State there and spent every spare moment on her mountain bike exploring the beatiful area. At the time I was a little worried that she enjoyed mountain biking a little too much, but she made it through just fine with not only a great education but those years filled with wonderful memories.......

Speaking of fall, I would love to see the Colorado State campus with its abundance of trees in the fall...sure it would be spectacular..

Redwings all the way! Expensive, but they hold together pretty well when I'm out doing manly things. Plus the smell of the leather reminds me of a Yankee Candle, Pony in the Mist.

OMG!! I've become one of them!

I am literally laughing so hard I had to get up and bend over to laugh.

Hey, my husband wears redwings, I can talk about those too. Either of you shoot pool, watch football or boxing? do you hunt or shoot? I don't hunt, but I do go target shooting. And canoeing. I can switch equally between both the estrogen topics and the testosterone ones.

I can operate in both worlds because I am married to a combination of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor and Rambo. In fact his friends call him Irvbo.